TOKYO – An Olympic medal will be on the line for former University of New Hampshire star Elle Purrier St. Pierre after she qualified for the 1500m finals on Wednesday.
The 11-time All-American ran a 4:01.00 to finish sixth in the first semifinal heat and her time was fast enough to advance to Friday’s finals. The Vermont native will be one of two Team USA runners competing in the race which starts at 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time on August 6.
No former America East student-athlete has come this close to medaling in the Olympic Games since former Hartford Hawk Sonja Fuss won bronze for the German national women's soccer team in Athens in 2004. Purrier St. Pierre placed third in her opening-round heat on Sunday with a time of 4:05.34 to advance to the semifinals. The first-time Olympian ranks 15th in the world in the event and became the third America East alum to advance to the semifinals of an Olympic track and field event in the past three Games. UAlbany sprinter Grace Claxton advanced most recently in the 400 hurdles in Rio and Stony Brook great Lucy Van Dalen did so in the 1,500m in 2012.
Purrier St. Pierre made the U.S. Olympic Team by winning the 1,500m at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with a personal-best time of 3:58.03.
Watch the events on NBC Sports and the NBC Sports app. For more information, visit the the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games website.
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